Bengaluru: Nursing college sealed after 34 students from Kerala, West Bengal contract Covid-19

According to BBMP, all students who tested positive in the college situated at Horamavu have been shifted to the Covid Care Centre at the premises of HAL.

Yet another nursing college in the state was identified as a Covid-19 cluster and sealed Thursday after 34 students of the private institution in Bengaluru tested positive for the virus.

“The college authorities have helped us identify that the cluster mostly comprises students who returned to the state from Kerala and West Bengal. The cluster, in the Mahadevapura zone, is the biggest active cluster in the city as well,” a senior BBMP official told The Indian Express.

According to officials of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), all students who tested positive in the college situated at Horamavu have been shifted to the Covid Care Centre (CCC) at the premises of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Earlier, 65 students in Kolar’s Noorunnisa Institute of Nursing had tested positive. Meanwhile, the Dakshina Kannada district health officer had noted on August 19 that students entering the state from neighbouring Kerala constituted nearly 15% of the new cases in the district. “Although their RT-PCR results are negative upon entry, we have been observing that many of them test positive nearly a week after they arrive,” he had said.

BBMP’s health team which collected data from the infected students found they had entered Bengaluru on August 5 and were negative as per the RT-PCR test reports they possessed. “The students had visited shops in the neighbourhood apart from ordering food through delivery apps so it seems there could be multiple sources of the infection,” an officer who collected data to identify contacts said.

While 10 students tested positive first on August 28, 12 more were found to be infected on August 30. “Another set of 12 students tested positive Thursday, taking the total to 34,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the samples have been sent for genome sequencing as all the infected students had taken their first dose of Covid vaccines. “None of them, 22 women and 12 men, have any major symptoms. Their health is stable and they are recovering fast. We have collected samples of all primary and secondary contacts of teachers, non-teaching staff, and residents of the apartment located next to their hostels,” the officer said.

With the college and hostel buildings sealed and declared containment zones by the civic body, offline classes were suspended at the college.

Earlier, after similar incidents were reported from Dakshina Kannada and Kolar, the health department had decided to enhance surveillance measures across educational hubs in the state, including Bengaluru, Mangaluru, and Udupi.

“With the positivity rate in Kerala continuing to remain high, we have initiated orders to ensure students returning from Kerala undergo a mandatory week-long quarantine. This will be strictly followed even if they are double-vaccinated and have an RT-PCR negative report,” additional chief secretary Jawaid Akhtar had said.

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